The European Union (EU) is committed to reach climate neutrality by 2050. Similarly, Norway aims to create a zero-emission society by that same year.

European energy policy

The European energy policy research axis whithin Ifri's Center for Energy & Climate examines the major policy regulatory issues of the European internal and external energy policies, with a focus on the integration of energy markets and the deployment of low-carbon technologies.
Director of Ifri’s Center for Energy & Climate
...Research Fellow, Center for Energy & Climate
...Senior Advisor, Center for Energy & Climate
Associate Research Fellow, Center for Energy & Climate
...Associate Research Fellow, Center for Energy & Climate
...There is now a wide understanding that larger use of clean hydrogen in future can be an important mean to achieve decarbonisation of the European economy.
Green finance has been a burgeoning sector since the Paris Agreement and is at the crossroads of financial, socio-economic and environmental challenges. It is hybrid in nature: it uses financial instruments and focuses on environmental issues, while coming under the wider field of so-called ...
Although it is still marginal, the market for electric vehicles (EVs) is growing. According to the French Institute of Petroleum and Renewable Energies (IFPEN, Institut Français du Pétrole et des Énergies Renouvelables), EVs accounted for a little more than 2% of the light vehicle market in...
The European Union (EU)’s Green Deal is a game changer with attention so far focused on forthcoming actions plans, the Climate Law, financial resources, the revision of the 2030 targets and of the emissions trading system (ETS).
2019 has marked a fundamental turning point in the energy transition of the European Union (EU).
Europe has become a frontrunner in fixed offshore wind. Can this success story be replicated with floating offshore wind, a technology that would lift the sea depth constraint and thus open up wider market opportunities? This research study looks at the main success factors for this emerging...
While international multilateralism is under strain, it is vital for France and Germany to defend it, since it is the most appropriate system for preserving their interests – particularly in terms of welfare, security, prosperity and environmental protection. Against this backdrop, three...
French battery cell manufacturer Saft and Opel, the German subsidiary of automaker PSA Group, are finalising the details of a major investment project in battery cell manufacturing. Is the European Union (EU) finally challenging Asia’s dominance on battery cells production? What chances...
The low-carbon energy transition in France, the European Union (EU) and the world is today taking place unevenly and too slowly to preserve the climate and biodiversity. CO2 emissions are continuing to rise, while governments’ commitments are insufficient: in the long-term, the...
Closures of Coal and Nuclear Capacities in North West Continental Europe: Maintaining generation adequacy after 2022 Ifri Energy Breakfast Roundtable
The electricity system in North-West continental Europe is highly-interconnected and political decisions to adjust the national generation mixes have direct implications on neighboring countries.
Shifting Paradigms for Gas in the European Energy Transition Ifri Energy Breakfast Roundtables
2019 sets the stage for a reassessment of the role of natural gas in the European energy transition. The proposed coal phase out in Germany may foster its role in power generation. France has pledged to give biomethane a try while expecting a cost cut, and grid injection projects are booming...
A New EU Framework for a Well-Functioning and Low-Carbon Electricity System Seminar
After years of debates around the structural failures of the EU electricity markets, time has come to agree on potential remedies. With the adoption of the Clean Energy Package, a new legislative framework will govern electricity exchanges for the next decade. In parallel, the EU is about to...
Ditching Coal in North-Western Europe: Options on the Table Ifri Energy Breakfast Roundtable
Despite the EU’s long-standing commitment to climate action, its energy-related GHG emissions have picked up again in 2017. Renewables keep making inroads in the EU electricity mix but delays in reducing coal-fired generation are undermining the EU’s overall climate policy.
The Battery Alliance: can the EU avoid technological dependence? Seminar
The European Union (EU) is speeding up the deployment of electric vehicles and integrating large shares of intermittent renewables into its electricity grids. In doing so, the EU hopes to tackle climate change and air pollution concerns, but it cannot neglect the geo-economic shifts that a...
Global gas market trends and the role of gas in the European energy transition Ifri Energy Breakfast Roundtable
There is a sustained global demand growth for gas. Ample production and large investments into LNG export infrastructures in Australia and the USA and into receiving terminals all over the world are boosting trade, supported by lower prices and more flexible supplies....
Cybersecurity in the Energy Sector: What Role for the EU? Ifri Energy Breakfast Roundtable
The energy sector experiences an unprecedented digital transformation upsetting its activities and business models. The convergence of the global industrial system with the power of advanced computing and analytics reveals untapped opportunities at every step of the energy...
UK Energy Policy and Brexit: Keeping the Power On
The United Kingdom faces numerous long term energy challenges, in a context of declining gas reserves, aging thermal power plants and increasing intermittent sources of power. To sustain its energy transition, the UK implemented a carbon price-floor, yet the development of renewable energy...
What to expect from COP22? Brussels, joint debate Ifri - OCP Policy Center
COP21 has been a resounding success; all 196 Parties to the UN Convention on Climate Change have committed to take concrete steps toward decarbonizing the global economy and increasing resilience to a changing climate. All eyes are now turning to the November 2016 COP22 to see whether...
Innovation as a Catalyst for Energy Markets?
In the aftermath of the Paris global agreement on climate change, innovation stands as a growing source of leadership edge in energy markets. The integration of energy storage capacities is opening new ways of thinking and may trigger new...